Monday, May 8, 2017

BALLOTS AND BLOOD

Fight Between
Republican and Democratic Watchers at the Polls—One Man Killed
and Three Seriously Wounded. Two Sides to the Story of

the Shooting. Murphy's
Candidate Elected—Elections Elsewhere.

TROY, N. Y., March 7.—A mayor was elected in
this city, but the record of the election is spotted with blood, and scenes
beyond parallel, such as the oldest resident in Troy has no recollection of,
were enacted.

The elections of the city were always looked
upon by the outside world as being typical of ring rule, and to have one pass
without a disturbance of some sort and few arrests was not thought of, but
yesterday's crowns the record and few Southern cities can boast of a worse one
than it is.

In a darkened room in a family residence
lies the body of Robert Ross, who left his home to aid in the election of the
candidate that the Republican party had indorsed.

In a room in the same house lies his
brother, William, seriously and perhaps mortally wounded.

In another part of the city lies wounded a
notorious rough and ward heeler, Bat Shea, and in still another part of the
city is John McGough, who received a bullet and was seriously injured.

Up to 12 o'clock the election had progressed
with less friction than it had been supposed would occur when it was considered
that there were no less than six candidates for office, and that the Democrats
were split into factions and were waging the bitterest kind of warfare. At that
hour the only serious trouble had occurred was at the First district of the
Thirteenth ward and for Troy was
mild, consisting only of pulling down a railing in the polling place and
banging about a few ardent partisans who were anxious to prove that they were
working for the interest of their party. But this little fracas was only a
small forerunner of the terrible tragedy that was to be enacted but a short
half hour later in the same place and participated in by many of the same
people who had come out of the first wrangle unscratched and their tempers
apparently unruffled.

Among the watchers at this ward polling
place was Robert Ross and his brother William, both of them being there in the
interest of the Republican party. There was also there a well known character
by the name of Bat Shea, and it was a difficulty between these people that led
to the dreadful outcome. Several times the complaint had been made that
repeaters were voting several times on one time. Finally at about 1:30 o'clock
a gang of at least 15 strangers stood waiting to vote while men whose names
were on the poll list, both Democrats and Republicans, were crowded away.
Robert Ross objected to this and had some words with Bat Shea.

There are two stories of the affair and both
must be told, because as yet there is no evidence to show which one is true.
The police say that from what they can gather that John Haynor, a candidate for
ward constable on the Whalen ticket, attempted to enter the polling booth of
the Thirteenth ward shortly after 12 o'clock. He was stopped in the doorway by
John McGough, a Molloy man, who told him he had no right there. McGough says
that Haynor drew a billy and attempted to hit him, the weapon being an iron
stove-mounter's wrench, which was found by Detective Markham and is now in the
possession of the police.

McGough says that as Haynor struck at him he
clinched him, and at that moment felt a sharp pain in his back and turning, saw
a smoking revolver in the hands of John Ross, a brother of the dead man. The
Rosses [sic] then pitched on to him, and as he struggled to his feet John
Boland began to fire from a revolver. The police say that there is every
indication that Boland is the man who fired the deadly shots. The revolver
taken from him had four empty chambers corresponding in number to the shots
fired. Boland, who was immediately arrested, was a Whelan watcher.

The story told by the surviving Rosses is to
the effect that Bat Shea was the man who killed Robert Ross and, acting upon
that statement, the police put him under arrest, although he is badly wounded.

They say that the trouble began in the
polling booth, where a crowd of Molloy repeaters, headed by Jeremiah Cleary and
Shea, attempted to vote.

When the vote was challenged the men went
outside and immediately started an argument with the Rosses.

Suddenly the crowd surged forward and in an
instant revolvers were drawn and shots fired.

William Ross, who was injured, says that he
saw Shea fire the shot that killed his brother, but he is not sure that the firing
was not going on before that shot was fired.

When the shots were fired Robert Ross fell
to the roadway, and his brother William cried: ''I'm shot." The firing
ceased as suddenly as it had commenced. Excitement was so intense that no
effort was made to arrest anybody. Robert Ross was unconscious and men carried
him into a house.

John Ross, another brother, rushed to the
rescue, and it was a heartrending sight to see the three brothers there in the
scene. John Ross was holding his dying brother's head and moaned: "Look at
my dying brother's life blood," as the vital strength of Robert Ross oozed
from the wound in his head, dyed his brother's hands and the ground a bright crimson.

Mr. Rogers was summoned, but before he
reached the scene the wounded man was dead. He lived about five minutes after
he was shot. The bullet entered the brain from the back part of the head.

William Ross, brother of Robert, was cared
for by friends, who took him to the residence of Rev. Joseph Zweifel on Sixth
avenue. There he was cared for by Dr. Webster, who said that the bullet had
entered the neck just below the base of the skull, and had imbedded [sic] itself in
the muscles. He could not say whether or not the wound would be fatal, but was
positive that it was a dangerous one. Mr. Ross is weak from loss of blood.

Bat Shea was wounded, a bullet grazing the
skull and making an ugly scalp wound. Shea made his way, unaided, to Dunlop's
saloon, corner of Sixth avenue and Douw street, where he was attended by Dr.
Fisher. Shea's wound, it is said, would not be dangerous.

A peculiarity about the wounds of the men is
that each one was shot in the back of the head.

McGough, as has been stated, was shot in the
back and was very badly hurt. He insists that John Ross and Boland started the
shooting.

John Ross said: "I did not fire a
pistol. It was murder—deliberate murder—and it was premeditated. Only about an
hour and a half before this man Shea struck my brother William full in the
face. I dragged William away and told him to take the blow and say nothing; the
blow would not hurt him. I did not think at the time that they would start in
and use their guns."

Mayor Whelan said: "It is only the natural
result of the determination of the Murphy heelers to carry the election by fair
means or foul. It is a stain on this city."

Senator Edward Murphy was busy all afternoon
attending to the delegations of cuff and collar workers who came to talk about
the Wilson bill, but he found time to say: "It is a most deplorable affair
and I am greatly grieved at it."

At midnight it was ascertained that another
man was mortally wounded at the Troy election in the Thirteenth ward tragedy.

John McGough, one of the alleged gang of
repeaters who participated in the bloody riot was found at his home suffering
from the effects of a bullet wound in his abdomen. The bullet had penetrated
the kidneys, and the physicians say he cannot recover.

Alleged
Crookedness at Oswego.

OSWEGO, N. Y., March 7.—Over 5,100 votes
were cast. It is impossible to ascertain who is elected mayor. Duplicate
returns made from one ward show that Bulger, Cleveland Democrat, is either
elected by 20 or that Higgins, Platt Republican, is elected by two. Charges of
crookedness in three wards are made. Affidavits are being taken by Mayor
Bulger. The ballots are under police surveillance.

PAGE
TWO—EDITORIALS.

Elections
in the State.

The returns from the town and municipal elections
yesterday show Republican victories all over the state, in many cases by
largely increased majorities.

In Rochester the Republicans elected George
W. Aldridge mayor over ex-Congressman
Greenleaf by 3,000 majority. They also elected the rest of the city ticket, and
a majority of the aldermen and supervisors. The campaign was a very warm one,
and the Republican victory is thus all the more significant.

The voters of Gloversville entered their protest
against the Wilson bill, which has paralyzed the chief industry of their city,
by electing every Republican candidate in nomination. The majorities on the
city ticket are among the largest ever given there, ranging from 800 to 1,300.
All the Republican candidates for aldermen and supervisors were elected. The
county board, as now completed, stands 10 Republicans and 3 Democrats, the same
as last year.

Exercising the rights restored to them by a
Republican legislature, the people of Lansingburg expressed their condemnation
of the wrongs they had suffered at the hands of the Hill-Murphy machine by
changing a Democratic majority of 565 into a Republican majority 1,231. It was
a gloriously significant transformation.

The manufacturing city of Amsterdam vied
with Gloversville in expressing its disapproval of the Wilson bill. The
Republicans there elected every candidate they had nominated, except one, who
was defeated for supervisor by a small majority.

The wage workers of Auburn also gave a good
account of themselves by electing all the Republican candidates in the field
except two nominees for aldermen and one for supervisor.

At the special election for supervisor in
the eighth ward of Brooklyn, Fischer, the candidate of the Republicans and
independent Democrats, was successful. The Republicans thus gain control of the
board of supervisors for the first time in years.

In Newburg the Republicans made a clean
sweep. Their majority on the city ticket was over 1,800.

There was a close contest in Oswego on mayor
between the Cleveland Democrat and Republican candidates. The result is in
dispute.

As the result of repeating, ballot box
stuffing, intimidation and assassination Troy was carried by the Democrats, but
the end is not yet. They appear also to have carried Elmira by methods
something similar, although not quite so heinous. In Bath
they won a close election on the merits. They also won in Albion.

In referring to the department of
agriculture the New York Sun says
that "the business of the government is to mind its own business. Let the
farmers take care of themselves as shoemakers and conductors and lawyers
do." The Sun is given to a good
deal of this kind of pernicious nonsense. It is not only the right, but it is
the duty of the government to plan and pursue the general welfare. It has been
potent enough to embarrass the laws of nature, and it should be potent enough
to aid them.

The Sun's
remark was called out by the efforts of certain congressmen to secure an
appropriation for the purpose of exterminating the Russian thistle, which is
spreading rapidly and bids fair to ruin certain portions of the northwest, and
it adds, "The government has no more right to pull up weeds for the
benefit of a citizen than to pay for his shoes or to paint his cart." Just
as much right as it has to build a postoffice or a war vessel, impose customs
duties or issue bonds. It is merely a question of expediency.

The government rules its citizens as
circumstances and exigencies demand. It puts them in office, or it puts them in
prison. It leaves them unrestrained, or it conscripts them according to the case
in hand. It quarantines our ports against infectious diseases, and it reaches out
its strong arm to protect a citizen at the uttermost ends of the earth. Nor can
the well being of the country be met by any other course. These considerations impose
the utmost caution, it is true, but they do not forbid effort. Please make no
mistake on this point, esteemed Sun.
Or do you mean that it is not expedient for the government to conduct a
department for the benefit of the farmers—that this does not conserve the
general welfare? If you do, why don't you say so?

Benton Bushnell Jones.

Mr.
Jones Interviewed.

A STANDARD man to-day called upon Mr. B. B.
Jones, the postmaster-to-be, and inquired of him when he expected to enter upon
his new duties. Mr. Jones replied that the papers only reached him from
Washington yesterday. He must fill them out, get his bonds fixed and have all
approved at headquarters before he could begin. It might be several weeks yet.
It would be a good time for him to take up the duties April 1, as that would be
both the end of a month and of a quarter, and it would save making several
extra reports.

In reply to questions about the deputy
postmaster, Mr. Jones said that he had not yet decided who he would be. A number
of applications had been entered. He might make the appointment soon, or he
might delay it until about the time when he should enter upon the duties himself.

OYSTER ROAST.

A Fine
Supper Served last Night at The Brunswick.

A few of the friends of Mr. G. K. Straat
were last night invited to assist him in disposing of a quantity of oysters,
which had been sent to him by Col. Mott of Baltimore. Accordingly, they met at
the Brunswick hotel on Main-st. and at about 10 o'clock last evening sat down
to a table which fairly groaned with the substantial supper. The oysters were
served in stews and roasted on the half shell and served hot. An hour was spent
in the discussion of the excellent menu, after which impromptu speeches were in
order. The dining room rang with the merry laughter as the points to the jokes
became visible and it was midnight when the banquet broke up. All expressed themselves
as having enjoyed the oyster roast, something new to Cortland and thanked Mr.
Straat for honoring them with the supper of the season. Mr. A. D. Wallace was
also the recipient of many compliments for the excellent supper his caterer
served.

Yesterday the sixth Latin class at the
Normal arrived at that interesting passage in Virgil which treats of the death
of Queen Dido, and the time-honored custom of celebrating this event was
carried out by the members of the class in a manner which reflected credit upon
their ingenuity and skill.

The Latin room was heavily draped, a
beautiful sketch of Dido's death scene hung over Prof. Banta's desk, and in a
prominent position was placed a basket of ancient appearance and large
proportions full of ashes over which appeared the legend, "The Urn of
Dido's Ashes."

When the eventful hour arrived the class,
dressed in deepest mourning and with every sign of sorrow marched into the
Latin room to the music of a funeral dirge played by Mr. H. M. Butler. The
exercises of the hour were introduced by Miss M. Louise Myers, who in a very
interesting manner stated to the instructor that it was the desire of the class
to remove the mysteries which surround the death of Dido; that this might be
accomplished satisfactorily; the principal members of the Olympian Counsel, a large
part of Dido's court and the ghost of Creusa had been found and brought to
Cortland to give their testimony; that if Prof. Banta would kindly act as
coroner, the class would immediately hold an inquest over the ashes of Dido,
with these celebrites [sic] as witnesses. The professor consenting, a very
interesting program was carried out.

At the inquest it was clearly proven that
the ashes were those of an image placed upon the funeral pyre by Dido, while
Dido herself had quietly sailed away to Italy with Aeneas. At the critical
point Dido and Aeneas appeared upon the scene and made it evident that they
were not dead. The following is a cast of characters:

—Mr. L. E. Edgcomb has taken charge of the
picture framing department at the Fair store and is kept very busy.

—The Russel Gold Cure Co., are making arrangements
to open a branch in Cortland.
Until fully settled they will be located at the Messenger House.

—Prof. D. L. Bardwell will repeat his stereoptician
lecture upon the World's Fair at the Normal hall to-night at 8 o'clock for the
benefit of the Normal Athletic association.

—Do you want to sell any property, do you
want to rent any property, do you want a house or some rooms, have you lost anything,
have you found anything? If so let the people know it through The STANDARD'S want
columns and you will quickly be happy. A lost umbrella found, a quantity of
furniture sold, two houses rented, three families pleased with rooms found, a
servant girl procured, are the things we know of that proceeded from The STANDARD'S
want column yesterday alone, besides hosts of things we haven't heard of. One
cent a word. Try it.

Prohibition
Ticket.

At the Prohibition convention held in the W.
C. T. U. rooms Monday evening the following ticket was nominated:

A very pleasant surprise party was given to
Walter E. Bliss at his home, 57 Lincoln-ave., Friday evening, March 2, from 7
until 12 o'clock. Nineteen of his young friends met at the residence of Dr.
Higgins and went in a body to his home. A very delightful evening was spent in
playing games, etc. About 10 o'clock refreshments were served to which the
young people did ample justice. Those present were Misses Pearl Hitchcock,
Bergene Watson, Satie Benjamin, Lela Francis, Bernice Rowe, Gertrude Winters,
Dora DuBois, Carrie Amerman, Mattie Alexander, Messrs. Dell Hollister, Paul
Higgins, Max Higgins, Fred Amerman, Eddie Reid, Fred Anderson, James Corwin,
Page Benjamin, Eddie Murphy.